Viewing 16 posts - 1 through 16 (of 16 total)
  • Whats the 'in' LED downlighter at the moment
  • breatheeasy
    Free Member

    New kitchen/extension is happening and I’ve decided with the number of downlights it has that it’d probably make sense to go for LEDs.

    Don’t mind spending a bit of wonga on some decent lights, there seems to be the choice of LED bulbs that fit into the normal halogen fittings, or self contained LED type units.

    Any general advice/recommendations?

    Ta.

    stufive
    Free Member

    I think Philips have put the most into development of these lights and you can tell when you compare them to some of the other stuff out there, you get what you pay for springs to mind

    breatheeasy
    Free Member

    Yeah, I don’t mind spending £30+ a pop on lights in the scheme of things. Suppose they’re going to be ‘out of date’ next year anyway like all newish technology.

    FunkyDunc
    Free Member

    Ive got about 20 of these. Been in for about 3 months now. Not sure how they compare to others, but I like them. They are much whiter than the old 50w they replaced, but now we are used to them we prefer them. They also give out more light than the 50w they replaced.

    5 year guarantee too.. They were £10 each when I ordered them.

    http://www.ledbulbs.co.uk/megaman+led+6w+gu10+dimmable+-+warm+white/745662852

    Edit: I wouldnt use them in a lounge or bedroom etc, the light is too crips/harsh for that

    nellyp
    Free Member

    These are what i’m fitting at the moment,

    http://www.jcc.co.uk/products/featured-products/fireguard-led7/fireguard-led7-ip65-warm-white-non-dimmable-downlight.html

    10 year guarantee on the fitting including lamp.

    Around £30 depending on volume and whether you need 3 or 7 watt.

    stufive
    Free Member

    One of the noce things about LED bulbs is that you can get varying colour temps too let me know if you decide to go for anything philips as i have a good supplier

    mos
    Full Member

    Have a look at collinwood, nice stuff & a pretty extensive range.

    breatheeasy
    Free Member

    Cheers Stufive – I’ll check their stuff out first and possibly give you a shout.

    phil.w
    Free Member

    I’ve just fitted those JCC lights as in nellyp’s link.

    Initially more expensive but have a expected lifetime of 75,000 hours compared to 2000 – 5000 for a GU10, plus longer guarantee and less electricity. They should more than pay for themselves in the long term savings.

    bikebouy
    Free Member

    MrsBouy says (it’s her field )

    Not all LED’s are the same, as I’m sure you’re aware!
    Different light colours, beam angles, outputs,watts etc etc etc.
    It’s easy to end up disappointed with the end result. often times people feel the actual light given isn’t enough, and are drawn by versions purporting to be “equal to 50 watt halogens”. Another problem area is sourcing light for different areas within a setting, from different companies and resulting in a messy, unpleasant mixed light colour feel.
    LED technology has moved on a long way recently.
    retro fitting LED bulbs into old fittings is possible, but if you’re up for new fittings, then go for the whole thing. honestly, it’s really worth it, in my opinion/experience. Especially if you’re having a new kitchen anyway.
    You say you don’t mind spending a bit, so without breaking the bank, but taking the thing seriously I can offer a possible direction to go.
    I design & spec for Interiors, and can highly recommend a UK Specialist LED Co that produce a whole range of LED’s with coherence of both design (fitting’s appearance), and light output ( actual light working well together).
    Obviously every room is individual, but as you’ve a kitchen here, and trying to maximise light, large beam angle, recessed ceiling down light, reasonable price (trust me!), go for the Zep1 from EcoLED partnered with the Zep1E (adjustable recessed down light) if you particularly want to spot a wall. Although, the Zep1 has such a wide spread of light, that if correctly positioned it wall also wash walls at same time as flooding room space.
    Btw. If you,re wanting to light under the wall cabinets, over work surfaces, evenly, then look at the WW Flexistrip. LED tape , within Alu45 (45degree, diffused aluminium extrusion). All on their web site.
    There are several ways you could light the room, even just from within their range, but with budget reasonably in mind, and good end result a given, this would be a solution I would/do use. Happily! http://Www.ecoledlight.co.uk
    NoI don’t have shares in them……hahahaha!

    LenHankie
    Free Member

    I’ve looked into this myself recently as I’d like to save some energy from our mains GU10 50w downlighters in the kitchen.

    The general consensus is that while you can indeed buy replacement GU10 LED bulbs of varying brightnesses and colour temperatures, they struggle to give off as much light due to the lack of space for an effective heatsink. As a result their lifespan seems to be quite short.

    Advice I’ve been given is that if you want to go LED, you should source a full LED fitting made for the purpose, rather than replacement bulbs in existing GU10 fittings designed for Halogens..

    Have a look at:

    ECOLED

    EDIT: Bikebouy – Great minds etc…

    pdw
    Free Member

    I’ve tried quite a few different bulbs ranging from ebay’s cheapest up to the Philips £25 jobbies.

    The Megaman 6W warm white (2800K) GU10s are a very good replacement for 50W halogens, provided that you don’t want to dim them. My hallway has 9 downlighters – 8 are these LEDs and one is a halogen, and you have to look very closely to tell the difference.

    If you want to dim them, it’s a different story. The halogens go a nice warm colour when dimmed, whereas the LEDs go a horrid grey colour. I’ve not found a good option for dimmable LEDs. Philips do some bulbs that supposedly reduce the colour temperature as you dim them, but I’ve not tried them.

    If you’re looking for something that looks like a halogen, then you need a colour temperature of 2700/2800K, which some makers call “very warm white” others just “warm white”. Cooler ones (e.g. 3000K) can work nicely in a kitchen, but you wouldn’t want them in a living room or bedroom.

    I’ve not had any success going cheaper than the Megamans. The very cheap ones are unreliable and come in a variety of horrid colours.

    GU10 generally seems to be a good way to do LED lighting, but you need to watch out for oversize bulbs that require a very deep fitting.

    damo2576
    Free Member

    I’m doing the same thing – the LEDS will be going on a pitched roof over a kitchen so need to throw quite far, any suggestions?

    Sonor
    Free Member

    I’ve installed quite a lot of LED’s into commercial installations, Collingwood are good, had those on a couple of sites for four years now with no reliability issues.

    If you already have Halogen down lighters, then the megaman 6Watts are very good for retro-fit. The 2800k (warm white)is a very, very close match to 50Watt halogens in terms of colour and output.

    If you are fitting new, then the JCC fireLED 7’s are very good also, the power connections on the top of them are a little fiddly.

    SnS
    Free Member

    After much playing over the last year or so with LED’s – I’ve had pretty much the same experiences as above:-

    Basically –
    1. Forget cheap – You WILL be disappointed.
    2. Only buy if it has a CRI of 80 or preferably 85 and above – & Preferably one of the ‘major’ brands (Phillips etc)
    ( Colour Rendering Index) – If no CRI stated, it’s usually best to stay away.
    3 Beam angle – Most LED’s seem to be narrower than traditional halogens.
    4. Colour Temperature is very important. Halogens are ( as stated in PDW’s posing above). around 2700/2800K.

    Chris

    Flaperon
    Full Member

    No offence, but if you’re paying £30 for LEDs you’re being ripped off.

    Just be careful where you buy from on eBay and don’t spend more than £5 each. Understand what’s going on with the colours – warm / day white / cool white and the associated temperatures, and then bear in mind beam angle and wattage. The only lights I have that are a truly foul colour are, funnily enough, £12 Philips-branded ones that I bought as an experiment.

    If you don’t already have fire-rated downlighters you’ll need them at about £6 each. For thirty lamps:

    Rip off approach: £30 * 30 + fitting.
    DIY approach: £11 * 30 + fitting.

    You’re looking at a £600 saving (or greater, with bulk buy on LEDs and fittings). And in my experience of this, only the more expensive lamps fail anyway. Even if 10%, you’re massively quids in, more so if you fit them yourself, which isn’t difficult. Even easier if you have some red and black cable left over to do the kitchen.

    Also, with a 10 year guarantee, even assuming the company is still there and hasn’t weaseled out of the claim you’ll never get an identical colour or fitting, so why bother? On top of that, you’ll need to have a dangling hole in the ceiling while it’s removed, when with a GU10 you could just whip it out and replace it.

    Finally, this stuff either fails within the first week or will go on forever so you’ll be protected under eBay seller rules.

    Between us our family has over 150 GU10 LED lamps, all bought from either eBay or Mr Resistor. I think over a three year period, two have failed.

    Spend your money wisely. Don’t take advice from people making serious cash ripping other people off.

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